So many flavors, dishes, and comfort foods are associated with the holiday season, including eggnog, gingerbread, holiday ham, latkes, and tamales. Here's your field guide to finding holiday staples across the Valley.

For those who grew up in the Southwest, or have just lived here long enough to soak in the culture, tamales are a staple of holiday dining. If you can't schedule a whole day of making and wrapping tamales, we don't blame you. That's why we've gathered this handy list of places around town that will happily do the hard work for you. (Warning: It might be too late for some spots on this list.)

Find many restaurants across metro Phoenix serving special holiday items on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

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We believe in the sanctity of the eating of Chinese food on December 25. And what may have started as a Jewish tradition has now grown to become a widespread ritual even among those who do celebrate the Christmas holiday. So whether you're not celebrating Christmas, or just celebrating sans traditional fare, here are 13 Chinese restaurants that will be open on Christmas Day.

There are more than a few ways to get in a satisfying and oftentimes-upscale meal across metro Phoenix before the fun begins on New Year's Eve, or even hosting a midnight celebration in-house, and we happen to have a list of them for you right here.